Cotton Patch Geese Hatch Week

April 29, 2024

We've reached hatch week in the Frederick household! Nearly four weeks ago we received five Cotton Patch goose eggs in the mail. Four of the five eggs are showing signs of development. Thursday we should start to see pipping. Pipping is when the goslings begin pecking their way through the egg shell and begin breathing air from the outside, instead of from their air sac inside the egg. It's a very exciting time and hatching should commence within a couple of days! Our expected hatch date is this Thursday!

What's special about Cotton Patch geese? They are on the Livestock Conservancy's list of threatened breeds. This means they are extremely rare and in need of conservation efforts. Their decline occurred in the 1950s when herbicide use became common practice. Up until this time, the breed was used in the south to keep the weeds down in corn and cotton fields. The geese weigh approximately 8 to 12 pounds, depending on their sex. They are on the lighter side for domestic geese and are able to fly 5 or 6 feet in the air, which comes in handy when evading predators. Geese lay eggs seasonly, unlike their chicken and duck counterparts, with an average of 5 eggs per clutch before they begin to set. (The Livestock Conservancy, Cotton Patch Goose, 2024)

I hope to hatch more geese from a different line in the future and add to the conservation efforts by selling hatching eggs. Until then, they will make a welcome addition to our homestead as "weeders" and add endless hours of entertainment.